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By Robert Balajadia
The Academy Cougars took care of business against the St. Paul Warriors by beating them 61-41 at the Cougar gym in the first round of the quarterfinals Tuesday night.
Cougars’ All-Island MVP Alina “ICE” Bonto took a quick exit into the game after scoring six of the Cougars nine early points. Bonto rolled an ankle while putting up a baseline floater while colliding with two Warrior players.
In her absence, All-Island first team guard Kali Benavente and All-Island second team guard Gemilie Ilao took over and held off what appeared to be a furious Warrior rally in the second half. Benavente finished with 16 points to lead the Cougars while Ilao finished with 14.
“Our coach always says that we are interchangeable pieces and we just needed to step it up and play our game,” said Ilao on what the huddle was like after Bonto went down.
The Cougars held a 37-21 lead early in the third quarter when Warriors’ Joy “Nova” Pangilinan sparked a big 14-3 run to cut the Cougar lead to 40-33. Pangilinan would trim the lead even further with free throws early in the fourth quarter to pull the Warriors within six points, 43-37.
Benavente quickly put an end to a comeback by sinking a big three point after Pangilinan’s free throws to go up 46-37. Benavente would sink another dagger three pointer to extend the lead 51-39 a few possessions later.
Ilao aided scoring back-to-back buckets to further the Cougar lead as they closed the game out on a 15-4 run.
“We just needed to control their primary players and help each other out when we needed it,” said Ilao on the team defense.
Defense was key as Cougar center Erin Wong created havoc in the middle by blocking shots and forcing the Warriors into tough shots around the basket. Pangilinan scored 22 points in the loss and was guarded by Benavente for majority of the game.
“We know how [Joy] plays because we’ve played with her before,” said Benavente.
Kindra Young also added 13 points for the Warriors.
Bonto reentered the game nearing the end of the second quarter and finished with 10 points. She assured that she will be ready for Thursday’s semifinal showdown.
The Cougars set up a semifinals showdown with the GW Geckos who got the big win over the higher seeded Okkodo Bulldogs. The Dolphins will play the Royals in the other semifinal matchup after Southern defeated the Harvest Eagles while ND’s Destiny Castro dropped 36 points on the JFK Islanders.
Other Scores
GW 60, Okkodo 70
Souterhn 54, Harvest 54
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GPS Sports Calendar
March 2024
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for February
1st
ISA SOFTBALL
IIAAG MS GIRLS SOCCER FINALS
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
HS RUGBY PLAYOFFS
Events for March
2nd
HS RUGBY
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
Events for March
2nd
Events for March
4th
ISA HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS
ISA SOFTBALL ALL-ISLAND COACHES MEETING
Events for March
5th
HS RUGBY PLAYOFFS
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
Events for March
8th
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
ISA HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS PLAYOFFS
Events for March
9th
ISA SOFTBALL FINALS
HS RUGBY FINALS
Events for March
9th
Events for March
14th
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
Events for March
16th
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17th
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18th
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19th
Events for March
20th
Events for March
22nd
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24th
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25th
Events for March
27th
Events for March
28th
Events for March
29th
- 31
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Events for March
30th
Soccer
ISLANDERS OUTSHOOT DOLPHINS
Uncategorized
4TH QUARTER SPORTS SET FOR TAKE OFF
Soccer
ISLANDERS OUTSHOOT DOLPHINS
Uncategorized
4TH QUARTER SPORTS SET FOR TAKE OFF
COMING SOON …
4th Quarter Sports
- Guam Marathon